Fort William & Lochaber

Fort William and Lochaber is a huge rural area in the west Highlands of Scotland with the principal town Fort William lying on the shore of Loch Linnhe below Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles.

Spean Bridge & Glen Spean

Spean Bridge is a village in the Great Glen about 9 miles north of Fort William and at the junction between the Great Glen route and Glen Spean. The village has a railway station which is the last stop before Fort William on the West Highland Line. The train operator provides a sleeper service from London to Fort William with daily stops in Spean Bridge.

Walks & Outdoor Activities

Highbridge Walk

Across the road from the hotel, there is a 3 mile easy circular walk passing through lovely woodland, alongside the River Spean and with great views to Ben Nevis and the Grey Corries throughout. It also takes in several historical points of interest :

– the Commando Memorial, an impressive statue erected in 1952 to commemorate the elite units which trained in the area prior and during World War Two

– a section of General Wade’s military road, one of a number of routes built in the Highlands to move English troops quickly in difficult terrain to subdue the rebelling Scots.

– the ruins of High Bridge (which are very dangerous and must not be accessed). On 16 August 1745 the first shots were fired in the Jacobite uprising here. The stone bridge was built by General Wade to span the gorge of the River Spean.

– the old footbed of the Invergarry and Fort Augustus railway which opened in 1903 and ran for 24 miles to Invergarry where a steamer took passengers the remaining distance to Inverness. The line was never a commercial success and closed in 1946 when only a coal train was using the line.

Calendonian Canal

From the hotel it is possible to walk to the Caledonian Canal at Gairlochy (2 miles) and walk either to Fort William along the towpath (9 miles) or through to Achnacarry, along side Loch Lochy, on the route of the Great Glen Way. Either route makes a great walk of between 2-6 hours depending on how far you would like to go. These routes also make great bike rides!

Glen Nevis

Glen Nevis, one of the most picturesque of all glens. This leads not just along the foot of the Ben itself but past the stunning ridges of the Mamores and through the dramatic Nevis Gorge to Steall Falls – surely one of the most dramatic destinations for a shorter walk in all Scotland.

Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Britain. This route is the standard, so-called Tourist Route up the mountain. It is straightforward, if strenuous, by hillwalking standards, but the less experienced should read all the precautions.

The Great Glen Way

Old Pines is the only hotel and restaurant in the Gairlochy area, the second stop on the Great Glen Way from Fort William to Inverness. We are situated one and a half miles from Gairlochy on the quiet B8004 approximately halfway to Spean Bridge village.We have a dedicated drying room, a laundry service and we are dog-friendly. We also offer packed lunches.

The Great Glen Way stretches for 117km from coast to coast across the Highlands, linking the main centres of Fort William and the regional capital of Inverness. The route follows the major natural faultline of the Great Glen which divides Scotland from coast to coast. Most of the route keeps to lower levels and offers a good introduction to the Highlands and to long distance walking; from August 2014 there are also higher options between Fort Augustus and Drumnadrochit which offer more dramatic views but are a little more strenuous. The Way runs along the complete lengths of Loch Linnhe, Loch Oich and the forests above Loch Ness, as well as along the towpath of the Caledonian Canal, an engineering marvel built by Thomas Telford that links these lochs and creates a through route from the western seaboard to the Moray Firth.

THE NEVIS RANGE MOUNTAIN EXPERIENCE

Nevis Range is one of the premier visitor attractions within the Highlands, offering visitors a truly unique experience, it has many walking and cycling routes for all abilities. It takes 5 minutes to drive from the hotel and is situated in the shadow of one of Britain’s highest mountains, Aonach Mor, the gondola ride up the mountain and take in walks from the top taking in some truly stunning backdrop with some of the most spectacular views that you will witness throughout the Highlands!!.